


Legacy

by OIMDIL13



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Phil/May, Established Skimmons, F/F, F/M, Family, FitzSimmons BrOTP, Flashbacks, Fluff, Hydra, Skye is an agent, Starts in season 1 episode 14
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 21:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11998164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OIMDIL13/pseuds/OIMDIL13
Summary: She wasn’t an agent right now, Skye was an orphan, hacker who had managed to make it onto SHIELD’s radar. She wasn’t an agent. She wasn’t May’s only child.But she wasOrThe Skye is May and Coulson's daughter, Skimmons AU that I promised to post in May





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there everyone. I made a promise on my FF.N account to do a rewrite of my 'Dark Swan' story and this is the result. If you would like to read that fic, my username is the same on FF.N. There's only three chapters, the fourth is just a note saying the new story has been posted. I hope you all enjoy.

_“There was still dust in the air when the SHIELD jet arrived on a small island off the coast of Asia. Agent Phil Coulson and his partner Agent Melinda May had been sent out and told only that there was a report of an 0-8-4 in the area. Fury believed they had reason to assume that the 0-8-4 caused the earthquake that devastated the island. Luckily, very few people lived on the island, and all of them had been able to escape the carnage. Coulson and May had been the closest agents, breaking up an illegal trading ring in the Australian Desert, and had been the lucky ones dispatched to take care of the situation._

_“Do we know where the epicenter is located?” Coulson asked as he and Melinda disembarked. His wife looked at him over her shoulder._

_“Three kilometers southwest, still no exact cause for the earthquake.” Without waiting for her husband to reply, Melinda moved off in the direction of the epicenter, where they would begin their search. Coulson bit back a smile as he followed his wife. It had taken them a long time to get to where they are now, able to adequately separate their personal lives from their professional lives, and he didn’t want to ruin that because he couldn’t help but think his wife was gorgeous when she was in her element. Her intensity was one of the things he loved the most about her._

_Silently, Coulson followed his partner. She kept her body facing forward, looking for any immediate threats while Coulson looked all around to make sure there wasn’t anyone sneaking up behind them or coming in from the side. They made it to sight without any trouble but both pause on the edge of the damage, taking stock._

_The dust had settled, leaving only crumbled buildings and cracked sidewalks in the wake of the destructive force of the earth shaking. Silence coated the area as they both took stock in the situation. A faint noise drew May’s attention to the southern end of town. She strained her ears to hear better, silently following the noise._

_“May?” Coulson asked before the sound registered in his ears as he followed his wife across the broken streets. May’s pace quickened as they neared the sound, acting on instinct once she realized that there is only one thing she knew of that would draw her attention like that. She’d always had a bit of a soft spot for children. Coulson kept pace behind her, noticing that May was barely touching the ground as she ran towards the sound._

_The sound came from a nearly destroyed building on the edge of town. May barely paused to take in the damage before leaping over what was left of the foundation and crashing through the rubble. With only her instincts to guide her, May found the source of the cries faster than Coulson thought possible. By the time he caught up to his wife, May was already holding the wailing child in her arms. “What is going on?”_

_May briefly glanced up from the baby in her arms to see her husband standing beside her, clearly flummoxed and holding his hands on his hips as he processed the scene. It made no sense for the entire town to be virtually destroyed but this one child, this baby girl survived._

_“She’s the 084.” Coulson said softly._

_“She’s just a child.” May answered him, her eyes locking on the deep brown irises of the girl in her arms. Something in her chest tightened and released. When their eyes met, May couldn’t explain how she did, but she just knew._

 

The memory clouds May’s mind without conscious thought. She supposes she should have expected it to come forward. That day had changed everything for her. Everything in her life shifted the moment she looked into that child’s eyes, nothing mattered except for her. She was officially hers and Coulson’s within the week.

Skylar Daisy MayCoulson, they had kept her middle name Daisy after finding it etched onto the corner of the blanket she had been wrapped in. Once Skye had gotten older, right after she joined the Academy, she combined her last names to Mayson, allowing for a faster and easier recognition. Skye had been everything May didn’t realize she had needed in life.

And now her life was hanging in the balance.

She watched Simmons walk away, her hands trembling at her sides, after informing them that they would need to be at the nearest medical facility as soon as possible. Fitz followed her, the best comfort she would find since the arms she normally would run to were currently lifeless and cold in the hyperbolic chamber. May’s heart broke for the woman she knew meant so much to her daughter, for the woman who couldn’t show exactly how much this whole situation was destroying her because of their orders.

Her daughter was dying and May couldn’t even react the way she wanted. Fury hadn’t released them from their gag order yet, as pointless as it may be, since Skye was technically still undercover. She wasn’t an agent right now, Skye was an orphan, hacker who had managed to make it onto SHIELD’s radar. She wasn’t an agent. She wasn’t May’s only child.

_But she was_

Phil kept his eyes on his wife, not seeing any sign of her internal turmoil but knowing it was there nevertheless. He always knew when it came to his family. He yearned to go sit by his daughter’s bedside, to watch her chest rise and fall as she took a breath, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t look at his daughter, his world, with two gaping bullet wounds in her stomach and covered in her own blood. The thought alone had him swallowing back the bile that rose in his throat.

So, instead of following Ward into the room currently housing Skye, Coulson followed his wife into the cockpit of the plane. He watched her get the plane moving, calling the nearest medical center and telling them to be ready. He didn’t bother trying to tell Melinda that everything would be alright, because he wasn’t sure it would be. Their whole world, his whole world, had a hole in her stomach, and he wasn’t sure he would ever get that image out of his brain.

They sat in silence, for almost the entire flight. Coulson knew Jemma, sweet, kind, caring Jemma was wracking her brain to try and figure out how to save Skye, he was too. The difference was that Jemma wouldn’t be able to think straight. Jemma wouldn’t focus because she would still feel Skye’s blood on her hands, would be replaying everything that had happened in her mind, over and over again. Fitz would stand beside her, hug her, let her cry but she wouldn’t be truly comforted until Skye opened her eyes. Jemma would be wracking her brain on how to save Skye, her Skye, because Coulson knew that his daughter had been Jemma’s from the moment he saw them together, seven years ago on their first holiday from SHIELD Academy. From that day on, he knew that Skye was Jemma’s just as Jemma was Skye’s, and that knowledge had never bothered him until today.

Because if he loses one daughter, he’ll lose both.

Jemma would lose herself without Skye. She would recover, of course, but she would never be the same. None of them would be.

Jemma wracked her brain trying to save Skye. Coulson was trying to save everyone else.

 

 

_You need to call her family._

The words rang in Jemma’s head, loud and repetitive. She watched everyone’s face fall at the news, saw May clench her fists, heard Fitz fighting his tears, waited for Ward to punch something in anger, and Coulson lose almost all his strength. She could see it in each of them, but she couldn’t stand to look. May’s gaze turned to her and Jemma couldn’t even act surprised at the show of emotion in her eyes. If there was one thing Jemma knew that could break May’s stoic demeanor, it was her daughter.

Jemma had watched the struggle since the moment Skye stepped on the plane. Her own heart had leapt out of her chest at the sight of Skye, but May had only be able to brush past them silently. Skye, of course, later told Jemma that it was going to be hard on all of them, Skye had been ordered to keep her cover. Jemma had nodded and fell into Skye’s embrace, knowing that May, the closet thing Jemma had to a mother since moving to America, May who felt everything so much more than anyone else and never showed it, May who had watched her husband die and her daughter disappear, would be struggling just as much as Jemma would.

Jemma’s own struggle with hiding her emotions had followed her around daily. When she had woken up alone in their shared bed so many months ago, after the Battle of New York, Jemma had known with certainty that the next time they saw one another, Jemma would never willingly let her go again. She couldn’t, Skye, after seven years Jemma knew, was the love of her life, the only one she would ever feel so strongly about. The only person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Hiding the fact that Jemma was hopelessly in love with Skye was impossible. She did a poor job of hiding her emotions, she is fully aware of that. Coulson, May and even Fitz had silently berated her each time her gaze lingered on Skye for two long, or she brushed against Skye in a little too familiar manner. Skye scolded her too, later on when they snuck into one another’s bunks long after everyone else had called lights out. Although, Skye’s lectures normally involved cuddles and sleepy kisses to Jemma’s neck and forehead.

May storming out of the room drew Jemma from her thoughts. Jemma could tell by her demeanor that following May would not be in her best interest. She let Coulson handle his wife, instead keeping her own gaze forward, staring blankly ahead as her mind drew pictures of her and Skye, everything they had done together over the last seven years, everything they still wanted to do. The ring that was waiting for them right time back on the Bus, hiding with all of the science books that she knew Skye would never touch. She had been in possession of the ring for nearly a year now, just waiting to ask the question.

“Simmons, get her ready for transport.” Coulson ordered as he moved to follow his wife.

“Sir,” Jemma began to protest.

“I know, I know. I have to do this Jemma, if those doctors can bring me back from the dead they can sure as hell save my daughter.” He didn’t wait for Jemma or either of the boys to speak before walking out of the room.

“What’s he talking about?” Ward asked but received no answer from Jemma or Fitz as they both went to retrieve Skye. “His daughter?”

 

They were in the air quickly, ushering Skye to the medical bay and making sure she was properly hooked up to all the various machines Jemma would be using to monitor her. Coulson stepped out of the room almost as soon as she was situated and Fitz followed shortly after. Ward was tending to the two agents who had boarded their plane to retrieve Ian Quinn. Jemma was glad to be rid of the monster who had done this to her love.

“Hey,” Jemma whispered once she was sure they were alone. “You’re in pretty bad shape, Skye. But that’s okay, you know I won’t give you up, not without a fight. I can’t lose you now, not after I just got you back. I promised you and myself that I wouldn’t let you walk away from me again. We’ve done a lot together Skye, but there’s still so much more I want to experience with you, only with you. So I need you to fight, Skye. I need you to fight to come back to me.” Jemma pressed a soft kiss against Skye’s temple and then another. “I love you, Skye, so much.”

Skye didn’t respond to her words, Jemma knew she wouldn’t. She just couldn’t keep herself from speaking anyway. Skye once said that she loved the sound of Jemma’s voice, of course she hadn’t meant to say that out loud and had been exceedingly embarrassed at the time but Jemma kept that knowledge close to her heart.

“Simmons, we need you in the lab.” Coulson’s voice rang out from the speakers.

“Don’t you dare give up on me.” Jemma brushed the hair off of Skye’s face gently and kissed her again. “I love you.”

She left the medical bay, completely ignorant of the tall, dark haired agent who watched the entire scene with a frown marring his features.

 

“Look, I don’t care about your ranks or clearance level.” Coulson spoke in a firm voice to FitzSimmons. “The answer to saving Skye, my daughter, is in this folder. I know the both of you want to help her.”

“Of course, I want to help her!” Simmons spoke up. “Phil, you know what that place did to you, do you really want to put Skye though that pain?” Even after the slight skimming she had done while the three of them argued showed her that what they had done to Phil was diabolical.

“Jemma,” Phil said and at this moment they weren’t two agents, or an agent and her superior officer. They were two people who loved a dying girl with all they had. Phil was a father, Jemma was a girlfriend. “Please, I don’t want – I can’t lose her.”

“Do you think I can? Do you think my whole world isn’t tilted incorrectly because she isn’t standing beside me right now?” Jemma took a deep breath to steady herself, her hand clenching with the desire to hold Skye’s.

“I know it is, and that’s why I know you’ll do this.” With that, Phil left the room trusting his daughters’ girlfriend to figure out how to save her.

She had yet to fail him, he knew she wouldn’t now.

 

_“Mom, Dad, please. I have everything that I’ll need, I promise. And home is like, two hours away so I can be there in a flash. Stop smothering me.” Voices floated to Jemma from the other side of the partially open door to her new room. She had a box in her arms and a bag slung over her shoulder but couldn’t bring herself to enter the room just yet. Two laughs, one male and one female, followed the good-natured complaining before the female spoke up._

_“We just want to make sure you have everything. We’ll miss you.”_

_“I’ll miss you guys too, but my roommate will be here soon and I’d really like to not scare her off with my overbearing parents.”_

_“Alright, alright we’re going.” Jemma backed away from the door as it was pulled all the way open. A couple stepped out, followed by a shorter girl who Jemma assumed was her new roommate. She averted her gaze from the family as they said their goodbyes and then steeled herself before entering the room._

_Lucking the other girl hadn’t pushed the door all the way closed so Jemma didn’t have to struggle with the door too much._

_“Oh, here let me help you with that.” Jemma allowed the box to be pulled from her arms as her new roommate smiled at her. Jemma tried to form an articulate response but was so struck by the beauty of her new roommate that all that came out was a long ramble of stutters and thanks. “Don’t worry about it. I’m Skye.” The girl held her hand out for a shake._

_“Jemma.” The Brit finally found her voice and introduced herself. They grasped hands and smiled at one another. That was the day everything changed._

 

Jemma pushed on Skye’s chest, counting out the repetitions for CPR and barking orders at Trip. Skye coded again and it was all Jemma could do to keep her heart beating. Coulson and taken Ward and Fitz off to find some miracle drug, GH-23, in the hopes that it could once again pull a member of MayCoulson family back from death. Jemma thought back to the words she and Trip had exchange before Skye began to crash.

_You can’t imagine your life without her._

Although Jemma had been lying about how long she had known Skye, the fact that she knew her life would never be the same was true. Skye had changed her life from the moment they met, when a simple handshake had turned her world sideways. It had yet to flip back around, even during those months when Skye was undercover, Jemma was sure it would never be balanced in quite the same way again.

“C’mon, baby, please.” Jemma didn’t mean to say the words, whisper them as she continued her repetitions of CPR. She shouldn’t have said them, she knows that, because Skye is still technically undercover, but damn it she just couldn’t hold it in. Skye, her Skye, the love of her life was dying beneath her hands, slipping into oblivion. Jemma felt her own heart break with each forced pump of Skye’s.

Ward rushed in, followed quickly by Fitz and Garret, and thrust a vile at Jemma. Trip took over CPR while Jemma plugged the medicine into Skye’s I.V. Coulson came rushing in a few moments later as the plane took off.

“Don’t give it to her!”

“I was already losing her.” Jemma didn’t fight the tears rolling down her cheeks as Trip stopped the compressions and everyone turned their attention to the screen displaying Skye’s vitals. They began to rise. “It’s working.” Jemma almost released a sigh of relief but stopped short when Skye’s vitals spiked and her back arched off the bed. “Baby, please.” The desperate plea escaped her lips as Jemma smoothed back Skye’s hair with one hand, waiting for the thrashing to stop.

Just as quickly as they spiked, Skye’s vitals calmed and she settled back on the bed. Jemma let out an audible cry as she leant over and kissed Skye’s forehead. She whispered something that the others couldn’t make out before kissing Skye again and then rising. She turned to look at Coulson first.

“It’ll be a few hours before she wakes up.” Jemma said. “I’ll monitor her until then.” Phil nodded once and turned to leave the medical bay. He led Garret to a beaten and bloody Ian Quinn, eager to be rid of the bastard who nearly killed his daughter.

Once Quinn was taken care of, Coulson made his way to the cockpit. May had the plane set on autopilot as she stared straight ahead. Coulson reached for her slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“She’ll be okay.” He said softly. May, in a move that would have been surprising to anyone except the man who had been married to her for over twenty years, removed herself from her seat and collapsed into his arms. She sobbed into her husband’s chest, finally releasing all of her pent-up emotions with the knowledge that her daughter would be all right.


	2. Chapter 2

It was nearly twelve hours before Skye woke up. Jemma, after removing the tube that Skye had rejected from her throat ten hours ago, had taken up post in an uncomfortable chair beside Skye’s bed and claimed one of her hands with her own to watch over her until she woke up. She must have dozed off because she opened her eyes when she felt familiar fingers brushing through her hair. She lifted her head from where it rested against Skye’s thigh and looked up at her girlfriend.

“Skye,”

“Hey, Jem.” Skye smiled softly at her, their hands interlocking. Jemma rose from her chair to perch on the edge of Skye’s bed. Skye’s eyes watched her every move. “Jem,”

“You’re okay.” Jemma said as she leant forward and rested her head against Skye’s. One hand rose to cup Skye’s cheek.

“I’m okay.” Of course, Jemma knew that Skye was in massive amounts of pain and that her body was still healing. She needed to rest and recuperate. That knowledge didn’t stop Jemma from locking their lips together in a tearful kiss. She felt Skye cup the back of her head and grip her waist. “I’m okay, baby, please don’t cry. You know I hate it when you cry.” Skye rested their foreheads together gently. “I’m okay. I love you, so much.”

“I love you, too.” Jemma kissed her softly. “I was so scared,”

“Shh,” Skye wiped away the tears falling from Jemma’s eyes with the pad of her thumb. Jemma leaned into the contact. Less than a day ago, she thought she would never feel this again. “I know, I know, I’m sorry.”

“I love you,” Jemma repeated the phrase over and over, and each time Skye whispered the words back. Neither of them noticed the dark-haired man watching the tearful reunion from the other side of the glass window. His jaw clenched as he watched them share a tearful kiss before Skye settled back on the bed with a groan of pain.

Ward refrained from entering the Med Bay, staying at his post by the window, just barely out of sight of the two women. He had been watching them for some time, not just Skye and Simmons but all of them. The way they acted around one another wasn’t that of strangers who barely had the right to call one another friends. FitzSimmons he understood, May and Coulson he understood. But the connection Skye had to all four of them gave him pause.

He first noticed the connection when everyone thought Jemma was going to die. Skye had to be physically removed from the lab, and even then, she would only let May touch her, guide her away. When he and Jemma returned to the plane, Ward felt as though he should have turned away from the hug Skye and Jemma shared. At the time, he thought it was due to exhaustion and adrenaline. Now, he realized that his entire team had been lying to him. They weren’t strangers or even just friends. They were family, and Ward clearly wasn’t a part of that.

The anger that boiled in his stomach at the thought surprised Ward. He had done his best to not get attached to the other agents on the Bus, but it was pointless.  Despite everything he knew, Ward actually liked working with this group of people, he _loved_ them. And that was what made his stomach boil and his jaw clench. He loved Skye most of all, and he knew she would never love him back.

 

Skye’s recovery was slow moving, but each day hurt a little less. Jemma had completely dropped the pretense of them not knowing one another which caused a chain reaction with Fitz, Coulson and May. The Brit was now showering her girlfriend in the affection that they had had to keep behind closed doors until then. It seemed that every time Skye moved or said anything, Jemma was there with a kiss to her forehead or cheek, and an affectionate comment to go with it. Skye appreciated the gestures, especially after having to hide them for the past half year. Their eight year anniversary was coming up soon, Skye was almost glad that her cover had been blown. Almost.

The trouble came after Ward ran off with the Asgardian woman and the Bus stopped off in Washington to refuel. Trouble isn’t the right word, but Skye could think of nothing else to describe the face of Natasha Romanoff as she stormed in to the Med bay, followed closely by a clearly agitated Nick Fury.

“Agent Romanoff! You cannot just barge into the room of a recovering deep cover agent.” Fury berated the woman as she came to a stop at the foot of Skye’s bed. The injured agent had been drifting off as Jemma read to her from a Harry Potter book, the Brit lazily pulling her free hand through Skye’s hair as the agent leaned against her shoulder. Both women looked up at the sound of two agents entering the room.

“You got shot?” Natasha ignored the frustrated tone of Fury and addressed Skye directly.

“Rookie mistake. Went in without any back up.” Skye refrained from removing her head off of Jemma’s shoulders but did make an effort to keep her eyes open as Jemma kept playing with her hair. “I survived.”

“You’re a dumbass.” Natasha moved so she could gently hug both women on the bed.

“Yeah, yeah,” Skye squeeze her back, “I love you, too, Nat.” With only a small grimace, Skye made herself comfortable against Jemma again before turning her gaze over to her boss. “I assume you’re here because my cover is blown.”

“I can’t just be here to check on you?” Fury continued before Skye could comment. “I was going to see how your team is dealing with the revelation and how much they know.”

“Everything, they all know everything. Some more than others.” Coulson stepped into the room. “Sir,” he nodded in the direction of his boss and claimed a spot standing by Skye’s bed.

“Where’s May?” Coulson didn’t answer verbally, just shifted his head vaguely in the direction behind Fury. “The whole damn family is here.”

“Perhaps I should leave.” Jemma said as she shut the book she had been reading. She began to shuffle Skye off of her body before Coulson stopped her.

“He said family, didn’t he?” Jemma settled back with a small smile. “I expect we’ll be getting a full debriefing.”

“I want reports on my desk before this plane takes off,” Fury met Skye’s gaze evenly, “on all fronts.”

“Understood.” Skye nodded once before telling her father to show Fury out. Jemma’s gaze settled on her face but Skye shook her head. They would talk about it later, when they were alone. “Good to see you, Nat.”

“You too, kid. Steve wanted to be here, but Captain America was needed elsewhere.” Nat sat on the bed by their feet.

“I guess, I’ll forgive him for skipping out, then. Just this once.” Skye smiled slightly, her eyes fluttering closed as Jemma resumed playing with her hair. She had stopped once Nat hugged the both of them but now that they were almost alone again she started the soothing motions again. Nat watched the two of them with an affectionate smile.

Natasha and Skye had met on a mission many years ago, the first mission that Skye had ever come home from with a serious injury. Gunshot wound to the thigh had just barely missed the bone but had caused a lot of blood loss. Skye had been rushed to surgery just moments before Jemma came storming into the room and demanded to know what had happened to her and where she was. Natasha hadn’t been as scared as she was of the pissed of scientist since she was a child. Natasha had explained what had happened and waited with Jemma for Skye to get out of surgery. The Black Widow had been friends with the two of them ever since, and often enjoyed sparring with Skye when the two of them had a moment to spare.

“How are you holding up?” Natasha asked once she was sure that Skye had fallen asleep. From what Natasha saw over the years as a spy, watching the injured was even worse on the loved ones.

“I’ve been better.” Jemma answered honestly. “It was a close call this time, Nat,” she swallowed harshly against the lump that rose in her throat, “I almost lost her.”

“She’s alright, Jemma.” Natasha gripped Jemma’s leg with one hand, watching as Jemma turned her head and buried her nose in Skye’s hair, breathing deeply. Her fingers flexed as the arm around Skye’s shoulders pulled the slumbering woman closer to her. “She’s alright.” Jemma didn’t respond, but her shoulders relaxed and she let out a relieved breath, reassured by both Nat’s words and the warmth of Skye in her arms.

 

Ward entered the room soon after Natasha left, smiling when he noticed that Skye was awake and alert. She was, for once, alone in the room. Jemma had been called down to the lab by Fitz to work on fixing something with the night-night gun and had parted from the room after a lingering kiss that Ward had been unfortunate enough to witness through the window. May and Coulson, Ward assumed he was with her in the cockpit, were more than likely discussing their daughter and what Fury had said earlier. Either way, he was alone with Skye.

She really was gorgeous. The color had returned to her tanned cheeks, her eyes were bright again. Ward had thought she was beautiful from the moment he met her, but it was her eyes that he truly fell for. They were so expressive, deep brown and soulful. Ward always felt that he would get lost if he was ever permitted to stare into their depths for any stretch of time. The knowledge that it was never going to be his joy to get lost in Skye burned deep within him. How he hated Jemma for claiming that right.

“Hey,” Skye’s soft voice brought him out of his musings. Luckily, due to his years of training, his gave away nothing of the anger within him.

“Agent Mayson,” Ward greeted her with a small smile. Skye rolled her eyes and shifted in the bed in an effort to get more comfortable. “How long are they keeping you here?” He asked. It had been nearly three weeks since she woke, and while she wasn’t up to full speed yet Ward thought she could at least get out of the med bay.

“Just until Jemma gets back from the lab,” Skye smiled brightly just saying her name, “she shouldn’t be gone for more than an hour or so.”

“That’s great.” Ward clenched his jaw.

“I’m sorry we had to keep all of this from you.” Skye had mistaken the cause for his anger to be her cover and not her lover. “Orders are orders, you know.”

“I know,” Ward forced himself to relax. “I must admit that I couldn’t believe you were an agent, it took a little while to get used to the idea.”

“Of course,” Skye laughed, “that means I did my job.” Ward didn’t linger on that for too long.

“So, what was it like being raised by the Calvary?” He changed the subject, taking a seat on the edge of Skye’s bed. Just as he was about to place his hand on her calf, Skye shifted to sit with her legs crossed, out of his reach.

“Don’t call her that.” Skye sighed deeply. “She’s an amazing mother. The best I could have asked for.” Skye smiled, lost in her memories for a moment. “Coulson is great, too. I can’t remember either of them not being there, for anything. No matter what mission they were on, or where they were supposed to be. They’re great parents.”

Again, Ward buried his anger under a smile. Skye had everything he wanted as a child, and Jemma had everything he wanted as an adult. He forced a smile on his face and listened calmly as Skye prattled on and on about how amazing her parents had been when she was growing up, and when she went to the Academy. Their conversation continued in a similar manner until Jemma stepped back into the room.

Skye’s whole demeanor changed at the sight of Jemma. Her smile grew, her eyes shone brighter than before.

“Ready to get into a real bed, love?” Jemma busied herself with pulling the blankets on Skye’s bed back, lifting her shirt slightly to check the wound after shooting the smallest of smiles in Wards direction.

“Absolutely.” Skye swung her sweatpants clad legs over the side of the bed after Jemma pulled her shirt back down. Ward stood up, intending to move to the other side of the bed and help Skye up but, of course, Jemma stopped him. She already stood between Skye’s legs, her hands on the brunettes’ shoulders to steady her. They looked meaningfully at one another for a moment before Jemma swooped down for a kiss. Ward looked away.

“You got her, Simmons?” Ward didn’t bother waiting for Jemma’s reply before leaving the room, swallowing the anger and bile in his throat.

 

“Easy does it, love.” It seemed that Jemma was also determined to make up for the lack of pet names used in the past half year as well as her on going showering of affection towards Skye.

“I’m good, Jem.” Skye stood from the bed slowly, her arms wrapping around Jemma’s shoulders to help her balance. Jemma gently gripped her hips. “It’s good to finally stand again, now that Dr. Simmons isn’t yelling at me every time my butt lifts off the mattress.” Jemma rolled her eyes at her lover, pulling her in for a hug once she had regained her equilibrium.

“Do anything wrong, and Dr. Simmons will be back.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” Skye teased her, playing with the curls that escaped the ponytail Jemma had pulled her hair into. Jemma just smiled as she pulled out of the hug.

“I’ll let you figure that out,” she said and then swooped in for a long, slow kiss that left them both weak in the knees. “For now, let’s get you into a proper bed.”

“Finally, you’re trying to get me in bed again.” Skye joked as the couple shifted so that Skye had her arm around Jemma’s shoulder and Jemma gripped her waist to help her walk. “It’s about time.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that later.” Jemma kissed her cheek softly.

“Time for what?” Fitz held the door to the main living area of the bus open for the couple.

“Nothing important,” Jemma answered before Skye could say something that would not only be witty and sarcastic, but surely turn Fitz’s face red with embarrassment and force Jemma to refrain from looking her best friend in the face for possibly several days. “Thank you, Fitz.”

“No problem,” he moved with them to Skye’s bunk, “how are you feeling, Skye?”

“Better now that I’m not in the med bay. Did you finish the final model of the nigh-night gun?” Jemma smiled as the two most important people in her life began to talk excitedly about the gun and how it worked. Fitz may have been the engineer, but Skye definitely knew her weapons.

“As fascinating as I’m sure all of that is,” Coulson appeared from around the corner, opening the door to Skye’s bunk, “she still needs rest.”

“I’m fine, Dad.” Skye waved off his concerns but continued on her way to the room with Jemma anyway.

“I’m sure,” Coulson revealed in hearing his daughter call him ‘dad’ again. It was strange how he hadn’t realized he missed the word until she said it again. “But a father still worries.”

“As does a mother.” May stood beside her husband with her arms crossed. Skye let go of Jemma and nearly fell into her parents embrace. “Good to see you moving again.” May held her tight against her body. For a moment, Skye was reminded of the days before the Calvary took over her mother, before New York happened. Back when all that mattered was her parents bugging her about when she was going to marry Jemma.

“It’s good to be moving again.” Skye allowed her parents to guide her into the small room that served as her bunk. Jemma wormed her way between the two and helped Skye settle on the bed while Fitz excused himself back to the lab. “We get another assignment?”

“Not until you’re back on your feet.” Coulson assured her, hiding a smile as she rolled her eyes. She was restless, he knew, but he wasn’t ready to put her back in the field again. “Which should be…”

“By the end of the week.” Jemma supplied easily, pointing a finger at Skye. “Nothing strenuous until then.”

“Yes, Doctor.” Skye replied, her darkened eyes giving Jemma insight as to which strenuous activities she would prefer. Her parents pointedly ignored the end of that exchange.

“Rest up, little one,” May said, her old nick name for her daughter slipping out, “we love you.”

“I love you guys too.” Skye turned to Jemma once her parents were gone and the door had slid closed. “And, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Jemma replied with a gentle kiss to Skye’s lips. “Do you want to change before you fall asleep?”

“No, just come cuddle with me.” Skye slid down until she lay on her back, close to the wall, and opened her arms to her lover. Jemma slipped out of her shoes, pants and over shirt before climbing into the bed. She settled against Skye’s uninjured side with a deep sigh of content. She felt Skye take a deep breath, revealing in the feeling of their bodies pressed together the same as she was. Jemma pressed a kiss to the neck of the woman she loved, smiling against her skin when Skye slipped a hand beneath the shirt Jemma wore to feel the skin of her hip and back. They were both sound asleep minutes later, hearts and breath in sync.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long! I'll try to get chapter four up before the weekend is over!

Skye loved Jemma, she really did, but if she needed one more blood sample Skye would not be held accountable for her actions. The Doctor Simmons standing before her was definitely not her favorite. “Honestly, how much blood due you guys need?”

“Your recovery is nothing short of amazing, Skye,” Jemma said ‘amazing’ at the same time Fitz mumbled ‘strange.’ “Coulson wants us to keep this all hush hush, but really if we want to know everything we can about the GH-325…” Jemma trailed off under Skye’s gaze and cleared her throat before continuing, ignoring Skye’s slight smirk. “We would like to send your blood off to a colleague for further analysis, if it’s alright with you of course. Perhaps you could persuade Coulson,”

“No,” Skye’s voice was firm. “If Coulson thinks we should keep this between us then that is what we will do.”

“Wait, you don’t want to worm around the rules somehow?” Jemma asked, genuinely a bit surprised. Skye was an exemplary agent, always had been, but some of her tactics did not exactly follow protocol. Skye rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Who are you and what have you done with Skye?” Fitz asked. Skye rolled her eyes again while she fixed her sleeve now that Jemma was done drawing her blood.

“Skye,” Ward rounded the corner, “your needed upstairs. Big brass wants to talk to you.” Skye nodded in response but Ward was already out of sight. Skye climbed to her feet, barely an inch of space between her and Jemma. She nodded once to Fitz and began to slip past Jemma. Before she could get to far, Jemma gripped her arm and pulled her back.

“Jem?” Skye asked, concern clouding her voice.

“Are you absolutely sure you feel alright?” Jemma met her eyes, hoping Skye didn’t notice the fear in them. Of course, Skye knew her too well, and saw it right away.

“Hey,” Skye whispered softly, wrapping her arms around Jemma’s waist and pulling her close, “what’s bringing this on, huh? I’m fine, Jem.” Skye felt Jemma nod against her shoulder. “I promise, I’m alright, baby.” Jemma pulled back slightly, so they were face to face.

“And you’ll let me know if that changes, yeah?”

“Of course.” Skye leaned in and pressed their lips together in a short kiss. “Now, I think I’ve kept the big brass waiting long enough.” Skye kissed Jemma again before letting go and moving around her to the exit. As Jemma watched Skye leave, Fitz walked up behind her and gripped her shoulder.

“She’s fine, Jemma. Maybe we are just paranoid.” Jemma nodded in agreement, but a sinking feeling in her stomach told her otherwise. However, she didn’t have time to dwell on that fact as May came down the stairs and into the lab.

“You two should come up. I promise you won’t want to miss this.” Curious as to what May was talking about, FitzSimmons climbed the stairs.

“I could set it up, but not without a high clearance.” Skye was saying as they came up.

“It’s good thing you have a higher clearance then.” Coulson smiled as he handed Skye her new credentials. “Welcome to Level Eight, Agent Mayson.”

Although she was trying to hide it, Skye had a wide smile on her face that only grew when her head lifted and she saw Jemma walking towards her.

“I’m so proud of you!” Jemma hugged her, whispering the words in her ear. Skye squeezed her back before releasing her and moving to hug Fitz. Ward watched the exchange, a blank expression concealing his emotions.

 

Coulson could remember so clearly, the day they brought Skye home. She was so small, but so strong. She stayed that way as she grew up, small, strong, and stubborn as a mule. Coulson had never wanted this life for her, had fought with his wife many times over the very idea of Skye going to SHIELD Academy. Phil had wanted her to grow up, happy, safe and healthy, meet someone she loved, he didn’t care if they were male or female, and live out her life. Maybe as a computer programmer, or something similar. He had never wanted her to be in danger every moment of every day.

If being an Agent wasn’t bad enough, the Clairvoyant had been actively targeting his daughter this entire time. He had watched Phil hold his bleeding daughter in his arms, just moments after ordering Ian Quinn to kill her. Coulson was sure he would have nightmares about that for the rest of his life.

But now, the Clairvoyant was dead. Shot, in cold blood by a man that Phil wasn’t sure he could trust anymore. Ward had made great strides in becoming more of a team player, but Coulson thought that maybe he had made a little too much progress. Ever since it came to light that Coulson and May were Skye’s parents, and that Jemma and Skye were together, Ward been acting differently. Phil was certain that FitzSimmons had noticed, but Skye and Melinda were both aware of the changes.

Phil couldn’t deny that he had wanted to do some serious damage to Clairvoyant when he heard the man threaten his daughter. Even worse than that, he knew that Skye had heard every word. Still, he hadn’t let his emotions get the better of them, and Ward had. Phil was left wondering just how much Ward cared for his daughter.

“Dad?” Phil looked up as Skye entered the room. He offered he a small smile that he was sure came off as a grimace. “Are you okay?”

“I’m worried.” Phil answered with a heavy sigh. “About Ward.”

“I can’t believe he did that.” Skye said, playing with the laptop in her hands. “Even with what that guy was saying.”

“How are you holding up? That was some heavy stuff.” Coulson changed the topic.

“I’m alright,” Skye said, “I really want to talk to Jemma, she heard everything too, but I’m dealing.” What Skye didn’t say was that something felt off, in a way that she couldn’t explain. She’d had this _feeling_ since the beginning of this whole operation to find the Clairvoyant.

“Well, let’s finish this. The sooner we do, the sooner you can make Jemma an honest woman.” Skye laughed as she and her dad left his office. She had been planning to propose to Jemma on their eighth anniversary, which was only a few months away. Both her mom and dad were aware of her plan, and fully supported her.

 

“Skye!” Skye stopped her track through the Bus when she heard her friend calling for her a slightly frenzied state. They had said good-bye to Jemma at the hub just an hour ago, but Skye already missed having her around. She knew Fitz felt the same.

“I was, uh, doing some regular maintenance, yeah, and I found an encrypted phone line. I followed the wire and leads to the cockpit where May has a phone that’s complete with a thumb scanner.” Fitz rambled on, his eyes wide. Skye felt her stomach drop. It couldn’t be, not May, not her mother. There was no way May could be the Clairvoyant.

“Fitz,” Skye’s voice was as hard as steel. “Cut the line.”

“What?” Fitz was clearly surprised by the order.

“Cut the line, now.” As Fitz scrambled off to follow her orders, Skye headed in the other direction. She knew her father and Ward were in the middle of a very intense screaming match, but this took precedence.

“Agent Coulson.” Skye said as she opened the door. She could tell that her father was thrown off by her calling him by his official title instead of just ‘Dad.’ “We have a situation.”

“What’s going on?” Without question, Phil came out of the hold where Ward was, leaving the tall man wondering what the hell was going on.

“It’s Mom.” Phil stopped Skye’s movement with a hand on her arm, concern on his features.

“What? What’s happened?” Before Skye could answer two shots rang out from the lab below them.

“Let’s go find out.” Skye pulled out her sidearm, signaling that she would go in from the bottom and for Coulson to go in from the top. As Phil pulled out his own sidearm and began to ready himself to aim at his wife, he wondered how in the hell everything had turned to shit so quickly.

 

May held her hands up in defense as Coulson came down the stairs, still pointing a gun at her. Skye moved around to stand next to her father, also keeping her barrel level and pointed at May. Melinda’s heart broke in her chest at the sight. She knew tensions were running high, especially with the threats that the Clairvoyant was making towards Skye earlier, and the notion that Ward didn’t kill the Clairvoyant, but she had hoped that it wouldn’t come to this. She hated betraying her family the way she had been, but her concern for her husband outweighed her fear. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her family. If only they could see that.

“I promise it wasn’t me.” May swore, moments after they were all thrown around by the plane changing directions. “Believe whatever you want about what’s going on, but you know I would never do anything to hurt Skye.”

“Mom,” Skye whispered to her, showing her emotions for a split second.

“Little one, you know I would never.” May spoke directly to her daughter.

“None of this makes any sense!” Coulson yelled. “Listen to me, you are going to call Fury on that line and we are going out figure out what the hell is going on.”

“I can’t. Fitz cut the damn line.”

“Oh, yeah, like that’s relevant.” Fitz protested from behind the glass door to the lab.

“What the hell were you doing messing with the sat lines?” Coulson turned to him. “Who were you talking to?”

“He was talking to Jemma.” Skye said. “They’ve been trying to figure out how the GH-325 saved you and me.” Skye groaned furiously. “Damnit! I knew I should have stayed at the Hub with her.”

“This isn’t helping anything.” Coulson yelled. “Fitz, you are going to repair that line. Now, so we can figure out what the hell is going on!”

 

Everything turned to shit so quickly after that. In hindsight, her father shooting her mother with an icer was probably the least shocking thing Skye would see before it was all over.

“We don’t even know where this plane is going.”  Coulson sighed deeply.

“I saw your trajectory, you’re being tractor beamed straight to the Hub.” Garret said in response. The older agent had come on board after Coulson and Fitz took out the drones that had been tailing him.

“The Hub.” Fitz and Skye shared a look, only one person on their mind.

“SHIELD is under Hydra control and we have no idea what will be waiting for us at the Hub.”

“I say we blow a hole in the side of this cherry and live to fight another day.” Garrett said.

“We can’t do that.” Skye said before Coulson could. “Jemma is at the Hub. There’s no way in Hell I’m leaving her there.”

“Oh, shit, Trip’s there too.” Garrett looked them all in the eye. “Gotta say, I’m not liking the odds on this one. Maybe we should get your specialists out.”

 

Skye rounded the corner with Ward at her side, both heading in the direction of their team. Off to the side, Trip was screaming at someone down the hall, lined up with the other Hydra Agents that Hand was rounding up. Skye couldn’t believe how deep Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD. The thought made her sick, her stomach rolled and her jaw clench in anger. Skye took a deep breath, now was not the time to let her emotions take over.

“Skye,” Jemma said as Skye walked up to them. Coulson had already pulled Ward a little ways back from the group as Garret continued his walk down the hall with the rest of Hydra. “Are you alright? Your forehead?” Jemma gently brushed her fingers against the cut on Skye’s head.

“We had to take out some agents to get to the control room. I’m fine.” Skye promised her, pulling her in for a hug. “Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine, Skye.” Jemma answered her and pulled back from the hug. “I just can’t believe this.”

“I can’t either.” Skye sighed, dropping her arms from around Jemma and taking her hand instead. “Fitz, you good?”

“Yeah, yeah, good.” Fitz was watching Ward, who was looking at Garret like he just lost his hero, which Skye was sure he had.

“Mom?” Skye turned to May.

“Fine, let’s get back to the Bus.”

Skye kept a tight grip on Jemma’s hand through the journey back to the plane that had been their home for the past half year. The ground was littered with glass and bullet casings, crunching beneath their feet. Phil caught up to them as they surveyed the damage in the main room.

“Where’s Ward?” May asked, looking at her husband with an unreadable expression.

“He’s going with Agent Hand to take care of Garrett.” Phil answered coldly. “He’ll be back with us soon. Let’s get this place cleaned up.”

The assembled group dutifully followed his orders in silence. Fitz, Skye and Jemma worked side-by-side in silence with Skye occasionally shooting concerned glances in the direction of her parents. After ten minutes of this happening, Jemma took Skye’s head and led her to lab below. She knew Skye needed to talk, and she wanted to patch up the scratch on her love’s forehead.

“What happened, love?” Jemma asked softly as Skye jumped on the lab table, opening her legs so Jemma could stand between them, a cotton swab covered in rubbing alcohol in hand.

“I’m not even sure to be honest.” Skye sighed tiredly, barely even flinching as Jemma dabbed at her wound gently. “One second I was in dad’s office talking about Ward and the Clairvoyant and the next thing I know my dad had my mom at gun point and Fitz is yelling at both of them from behind the glass. It all happened so fast.”

“Are you okay?” Jemma questioned softy, knowing the answer already but wanting Skye to tell her. “Really?”

“No, I’m not.” Skye answered honestly with a deep sigh. “But right now, I have to be. Hydra is still within our ranks. What started tonight, it isn’t over, and I need to be at full strength if we’re going to deal with this.” Jemma placed a bandage over the cut on Skye’s forehead and kissed the spot gently. Skye gripped her hips to keep Jemma in place, ducking her head to rest in the crook of Jemma’s neck. “Why can’t we be back home, curled up for a Harry Potter marathon?”

“We chose this life, Skye.” Jemma answered softly after pressing a kiss to Skye’s hair. “We chose to fight for what’s right and we chose to fight together.” She felt Skye nod against her neck. “No matter what happens, you and I? We’ll make it out of this.” Jemma promised. Skye kissed her neck in response and wrapped her arms tightly around Jemma. They remained that way until Coulson came to tell them Skye was needed back in the Hub.


	4. The End of the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This covers the events of the season one finale. Next chapter will focus on May, Coulson, Skye and Jemma recovering from the events of the finale so it will be insanely fluffy.   
> Thanks for reading!

The knowledge that his daughter was currently captured by a Hydra agent burned a hole through Coulson’s heart. He never should have left her alone. He didn’t know. He couldn’t have known. He never would have guessed that Ward would betray them. No, betray wasn’t the right word. To betray someone meant that they had originally on their side. That didn’t apply to Ward.

“Phil,” Jemma’s voice made him turn. He could see the fear in her eyes, hear it in her voice. His heart broke further as he looked into the eyes of the woman who had become a second daughter to him, and saw the desperation there. Jemma had nearly lost Skye too many times before, they had faced too much to leave one another now. Clenching his jaw, Coulson looked her in the eyes.

“Get that plane in the air. We’re getting her back.”

Jemma, Trip and Fitz followed his orders swiftly, packing up their materials and climbing onto the plane, heading in the direction of where they last had Skye online, L.A.

“Jemma,” He placed a hand on the womans shoulder as she walked by. “We’ll get her back, I promise.”

“I know,” Jemma offered him a watery smile. “I’m just worried that she won’t be okay when we do.”

Coulson had no response to that.

 

“Skye,” the woman in question felt Jemma coming closer before she heard her. She and her father had just rounded the corner to the hotel they would be staying in for the foreseeable future. The Brit had rushed into Skye’s arms as soon as she was insight. “You’re okay.” Jemma whispered against her neck.

“Jem,” Skye spoke softly, her voice cracking the tiniest bit as she held Jemma close to her. “Jem, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” Skye fought the tears clouding her voice, but they fell anyway.

“Shh, baby, it’s okay.” Jemma pulled back to brush her tears away. “Come with me,” Jemma wrapped Skye in her arms, taking her into one of the rooms they had rented for some privacy. She intended to sit the clearly distraught agent on the bed, but Skye was reluctant to move once the door was closed, instead wrapping herself around Jemma where they stood. Jemma held her tightly, rubbing her back in the pattern she had long ago discovered was the most soothing to her love and whispering to her words of comfort and love.

“He’s deranged Jem, he, he thinks he’s one of the good guys.” Skye spoke lowly. “How did we not see it? How did I not see it?”

“We couldn’t have known, Skye.” Jemma attempted to console her, sighing when Skye abruptly moved from her embrace.

“We should have known!” Skye demanded before collapsing on the edge of the bed, the anger leaving her just as quickly as it came. “I should have realized there was something wrong Jemma Ward had been acting strange since the whole ordeal with Ian Quinn. I thought it was just because of the Clairvoyant case, but I was wrong. Then he shot a man, in cold blood. He didn’t even flinch. He hid who he really was from us, and then he killed again. He hurt people again, in LA, and all because…” Skye stopped suddenly, her stomach twisting painfully at the truth of the situation.

“Because…?” Jemma prompted with a feeling in her gut telling her she wouldn’t like the answer.

“Because of me.” Skye shook her head. “Because Ward, he, somehow, he fell in love with me. He was supposed to take all of us out, when he got to Providence, that was his mission. But he couldn’t. He want-“ Skye swallowed harshly.

“He wanted you, to go with him, willingly. He knew he couldn’t force you.” Jemma claimed the spot beside Skye on the bed, sitting with her torso facing Skye, one foot tucked beneath her leg. “Oh, Skye.” Jemma rubbed her back softly.

“Why didn’t I see it sooner? I should have. I failed.”

“Skye, you did not fail.” Jemma insisted in a firm but gentle voice.

“I did Jemma. I didn’t give you all the details about my undercover mission when I joined you guys on the Bus. I didn’t tell you why Fury wanted me to keep my cover even though it was pointless.” Skye put her head in her hands. “And the part I left? That part is what’s tearing this team and my family apart.”

“Tell me now, Skye.” Jemma requested in an even voice, her motions on Skye’s back never ceasing.

“Fury sent me undercover because he had heard whispers of an uprising. There were meetings and private files and missions that didn’t add up. Fury thought it would be best to get ahead of the situation, so he sent me to the streets to find out what I could, but for some reason the plan changed, and I ended up on the Shield radar as a hactivist. Fury used that to change my mission, so we could flush out the agents not loyal to Shield.” Skye met Jemma’s gaze. “I was sent to flush out Hydra and I failed and now people have died and there will probably be more deaths coming.”

“Skye, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Jemma comforted her. “None of us all the signs, and it’s awful that so much has gone wrong, but this is bigger than just us. Our team, we weren’t the only ones affected by this. Hydra was going to take over Shield. There wasn’t anything we could do to stop it.” Jemma caressed Skye’s face, making sure the brunette was looking her straight in the eye when she spoke again. “You. Did. Not. Fail.”

“Thank you, Jemma.” Skye gave her a watery smile as Jemma gently thumbed her tears away.

“Don’t thank me yet.” Jemma kissed her softly. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

 

_“What do you think it will be like, after we graduate?” Skye asked softly. The two of them were laying on blanket beneath their favorite tree on the ground of Shield Academy, absently playing with one another’s hands while talking about their upcoming ceremony. After four years of training, the two of them were just a week shy of becoming official Shield Agents._

_“I’m not. I guess that depends on were we are stationed.” Jemma shrugged._

_“What if we are assigned to separate locations?” Skye worried._

_“That won’t happen.” Jemma tucked a stray hair behind Skye’s ear as she spoke, gently stroking the skin of her neck. “We already put in the paperwork.”_

_“I forgot about that.” Skye laughed, pecking Jemma’s lips. When they started really gearing up for graduation, the two had sat down for a long talk about what they were going to do. No matter what, they had wanted to be together after graduation. Together they had filed the necessary paperwork with Shield to ensure that they would be assigned to the same base. They didn’t care where, as long as they were together._

_“The two of you can’t do that in your room?” Fitz asked as he walked up to them, plopping down by their feet._

_“We could, but then we’d miss the chance to see your face turn ten shades of red when you catch us.” Skye smirked as the aforementioned colors made their way across the Scottish man’s skin. “We couldn’t give that up.”_

_“Yeah, sure you couldn’t.” Fitz rolled his eyes at Skye’s cheeky smile. “Anyway, what are the two of you discussing?”_

_“What things will be like after graduation.” Jemma supplied, leaning her head on Skye’s shoulder when her girlfriend wrapped an arm around her waist._

_“I imagine it won’t change much for the two of us,” Fitz gestured to himself and Jemma. “We’ll still be in the lab all day, doing what we do now. Skye’s the one who’ll be different. Going on missions and such, coming home with loads of stories to tell the two of us.”_

_“What makes you think all three of us will be in the same place?” Skye asked._

_“Well, I know you two will be. Who’s to say luck won’t be on our side and I’ll be wherever you are?” Fitz smiled at them then, his eyes bright and cheerful._

_“He could be right you know?” Jemma pointed out. “You could be stuck with the both of us for the foreseeable future.”_

_“Well I was planning on being stuck with one of you for life anyway,” Skye tickled Jemma’s side. “I guess I could deal with both of you, if I had to.” Jemma kissed her then, smiling as she pulled away. Skye relaxed against the tree she was leaning against, thinking that she nothing could pull the three of them apart._

Jemma would give anything to be in that moment, before graduation, before missions and injuries and all the times she had no idea if Skye was safe, before Ward and Hydra. Before she ended up on the bottom of the ocean with her best friend and no chance of ever seeing the love of her life again. Before said best friend sacrificed himself so Jemma could see Skye again.

It was a relief to learn that Fury was still alive, but that was quickly over shadowed by the fact that Fitz was in a medically induced coma. The doctors weren’t sure what would happen when he woke up. He wasn’t breathing for a long time, his heart stopped before they got his lungs working again. They had no idea how the time without air would affect his brain. Jemma would never forget the words he said to her, the tears in his eyes and the ache in her chest as he told her that she had someone waiting for her, someone who would give her the world if she asked. If only one of them was going to make it out alive, it was going to be Jemma, so she could have her happy ending with Skye.

She was waiting on the runway when the Bus finally landed, the bay doors opening immediately to reveal Skye rushing down the ramp as soon as Jemma came into view. Jemma took a second to admire Skye, hair pulled back, light blue shirt rolled up to her elbows, passion in her soulful brown eyes. Jemma barely had time to say Skye’s name before her girlfriend was holding her close, pressing their lips together like she thought she’d never get the chance to do it again. Her hands were in Jemma’s hair, on her back, gripping her waist as they kissed. Jemma’s own hands settled across the expanse of Skye’s back, gripping her shirt tightly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Skye whispered against her lips before pulling back, her eyes taking in all of Jemma, lingering on the small cuts that littered her skin. “Fitz?” Their hands linked between them.

“He’s okay. For now.” Jemma accepted the hugs May and Coulson gave her, never once letting go of Skye’s hand. “Medical has him.”

“Okay, we’ll go see him soon.” Coulson said, wrapping an arm around his wife as he spoke. They were still one man down, but they were finally together. They made it through the hell that was Hydra’s takeover of Shield. They survived.

“What is this place?” May asked as they looked around.

“I’m not, these were the first coordinates on the box Fury gave me.” Coulson answered.

“I call it the Playground, although technically that’s not its name, because technically it doesn’t exist.”

“Eric?” Skye asked as the group stared at him with expressions akin to pure bafflement.

“No, but I understand the confusion. Eric, sadly passed away. I’m Billy.” As Billy launched into an introduction similar to the one Eric had given them at Providence, Jemma took the opportunity to lean into Skye’s side, wrapping an arm around her. Skye wrapped her own arm around Jemma’s shoulders and held her close.

“So, Director Coulson, where would you like to begin?” Coulson looked around thoughtfully.

“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could sure as hell use a drink.”


End file.
